---
title: Serper Search MCP
description: Connect Jan to real-time web search with Google results through Serper API.
keywords:
  [
    Jan,
    MCP,
    Model Context Protocol,
    Serper,
    Google search,
    web search,
    real-time search,
    tool calling,
    Jan v1,
  ]
---

import { Callout, Steps } from 'nextra/components'

# Serper Search MCP

[Serper](https://serper.dev) provides Google search results through a simple API, making it perfect for giving AI models access to current web information. The Serper MCP integration enables Jan models to search the web and retrieve real-time information.

## Available Tools

- `google_search`: Search Google and retrieve results with snippets
- `scrape`: Extract content from specific web pages

## Prerequisites

- Jan with experimental features enabled
- Serper API key from [serper.dev](https://serper.dev)
- Model with tool calling support (recommended: Jan v1)

<Callout type="info">
Serper offers 2,500 free searches upon signup - enough for extensive testing and personal use.
</Callout>

## Setup

### Enable Experimental Features

1. Go to **Settings** > **General**
2. Toggle **Experimental Features** ON

![Enable experimental features](../../_assets/enable_mcp.png)

### Enable MCP

1. Go to **Settings** > **MCP Servers**
2. Toggle **Allow All MCP Tool Permission** ON

![Turn on MCP](../../_assets/turn_on_mcp.png)

### Get Serper API Key

1. Visit [serper.dev](https://serper.dev)
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Copy your API key from the playground

![Serper homepage](../../_assets/serper_page.png)

![Serper playground with API key](../../_assets/serper_playground.png)

### Configure MCP Server

Click `+` in MCP Servers section:

**Configuration:**
- **Server Name**: `serper`
- **Command**: `npx`
- **Arguments**: `-y serper-search-scrape-mcp-server`
- **Environment Variables**:
  - Key: `SERPER_API_KEY`, Value: `your-api-key`

![Serper MCP configuration in Jan](../../_assets/serper_janparams.png)

### Download Jan v1

Jan v1 is optimized for tool calling and works excellently with Serper:

1. Go to the **Hub** tab
2. Search for **Jan v1**
3. Choose your preferred quantization
4. Click **Download**

![Download Jan v1 from Hub](../../_assets/download_janv1.png)

### Enable Tool Calling

1. Go to **Settings** > **Model Providers** > **Llama.cpp**
2. Find Jan v1 in your models list
3. Click the edit icon
4. Toggle **Tools** ON

![Enable tools for Jan v1](../../_assets/toggle_tools.png)

## Usage

### Start a New Chat

With Jan v1 selected, you'll see the available Serper tools:

![Chat view with Serper tools](../../_assets/chat_jan_v1.png)

### Example Queries

**Current Information:**
```
What are the latest developments in quantum computing this week?
```

**Comparative Analysis:**
```
What are the main differences between the Rust programming language and C++? Be spicy, hot takes are encouraged. 😌
```
![Jan v1 using Serper for web search](../../_assets/jan_v1_serper.png)

![Jan v1 using Serper for web search](../../_assets/jan_v1_serper1.png)

**Research Tasks:**
```
Find the current stock price of NVIDIA and recent news about their AI chips.
```

**Fact-Checking:**
```
Is it true that the James Webb telescope found signs of life on an exoplanet? What's the latest?
```

**Local Information:**
```
What restaurants opened in San Francisco this month? Focus on Japanese cuisine.
```

## How It Works

1. **Query Processing**: Jan v1 analyzes your question and determines what to search
2. **Web Search**: Calls Serper API to get Google search results
3. **Content Extraction**: Can scrape specific pages for detailed information
4. **Synthesis**: Combines search results into a comprehensive answer

## Tips for Best Results

- **Be specific**: "Tesla Model 3 2024 price Australia" works better than "Tesla price"
- **Request recent info**: Add "latest", "current", or "2024/2025" to get recent results
- **Ask follow-ups**: Jan v1 maintains context for deeper research
- **Combine with analysis**: Ask for comparisons, summaries, or insights

## Troubleshooting

**No search results:**
- Verify API key is correct
- Check remaining credits at serper.dev
- Ensure MCP server shows as active

**Tools not appearing:**
- Confirm experimental features are enabled
- Verify tool calling is enabled for your model
- Restart Jan after configuration changes

**Poor search quality:**
- Use more specific search terms
- Try rephrasing your question
- Check if Serper service is operational

<Callout type="warning">
Each search query consumes one API credit. Monitor usage at serper.dev dashboard.
</Callout>

## API Limits

- **Free tier**: 2,500 searches
- **Paid plans**: Starting at $50/month for 50,000 searches
- **Rate limits**: 100 requests per second

## Next Steps

Serper MCP enables Jan v1 to access current web information, making it a powerful research assistant. Combine with other MCP tools for even more capabilities - use Serper for search, then E2B for data analysis, or Jupyter for visualization.
